TOTT 3: Darkness Awaits
by amberryy
Summary: Feather, Nightwind, Frostheart, and Thornclaw. The four are the prophesized warriors, destined to save the four Clans. Leftwing and Exile. The two littermates have been together for as long as they remember, but that is not always a good thing. Exile is heartless and merciless, and Leftwing is equally cold-hearted and cruel, on Lord Darkblood's side. Raging war is coming soon...


Tales of the Twolegs

Darkness Awaits

2015, October 31, West Clan, Leftwing's point of view…

HOW DARE THESE NUISANCES THINK THEY CAN BEAT ME! Especially the dark-haired one with sharp eyes. I flap tiredly as I gain height. My mangled wing is giving me alot of trouble.

I'll never admit this to anyone, but these four were quite alot of trouble. Especially the dark-haired girl- Wind, I hear someone call her-, who seems to have inherited the speed of the Spirits.

The Spirits, the stupid nuisances that banished my stupid ancestors to this stupid place with even stupider people. Yay.

Really, to me, I am the only soul in Ellenora worth bowing to. Well, at least my so-called "Master" can't read my mind.

I shriek and swoop in on the cowering person called 'Mintmarigold.' How lame. I don't know what I want to rid of more, Mintmarigold or the four kids.

Well actually, maybe the four kids. Too true that Wind gave me a big scar. Or two. Or, OK, maybe three. But I think the lady will make a nicer appetizer.

The boy with the sharp claws shouted "NO!", and jumped at me, claws outstretched. I dodged it easily and hook my claws onto his back. He shrieks. I just love it when humans do that.

Wind glares at me and gets ready to for an offensive move. This person actually fights clever. Unusual. She's rather… hmmm… unless these four are the four from the prophecy-

My thoughts are interrupted as I feel a stinging mark on my port wing. For a second I am almost blinded by pain and gasp inwardly. Then I recover my dignity, screeching furiously.

I ducked as the hazel-eyed boy lunged at me with claws out. He spat in fury and frustration. _Hmmm,_ I thought. _Guess I'll show them my real skill. Fight clever, Leftwing._

The wavy-haired girl was running toward me. My instinct told me that if I didn't duck, she would scratch me. But at the last moment, I realized that her arms were angled to my exposed left. My flank. I sidestepped as she drew near, then twisted my beak to nip her side.

She screeched with agony. How pleasing. I loved the faces of my target's when they run away. But this one wasn't trying to flee, foolishly. In fact, as I looked on, skin was slowly climbing over the waterfall of gushing blood. The wound was healing itself!

 _I was right,_ I thought triumphantly. _They are the Four!_ I contemplated whether to tell Darkblood. No, I decided. Let him find out for himself. That cocky old fool thinks he was the master of him! So ignorant.

Suddenly I could feel sharp claw marks on my port wing, driving me into a fury.

I clawed whatever I could see. I roared angrily. I was a raging fury within a matter of seconds.

Several people shouted, and claws raked across my forehead. Blood came gushing down to meet my eyes, until I could barely see. At least the scratch wasn't deep.

Finally, when all my rage gave way, it was dawn. I was exhausted, and my entire body felt broken down. I flapped a few times, putting extra effort onto my mangled port wing, and managed to fly off. I hope I left some serious scars on them.

My Bloodstone amulet vibrated, which meant that my "master" was calling a meeting.

I flew and flapped in the smudgy dawn sky, going Northwest across the West Dirts until I reached the far shore. There I rested for a bit, tired out.

 _This is useless_ , I berated myself. _You must be able to reach the island before noon. You must!_

That gave me a strange passionate feeling. _Never show weakness, my father had said._ I hurried on in my journey. -

The Mystic Island. The Elsemere Island. And… the Evil Island. The Tridents. At last, I had reached the only three islands in the realm of Ellenora. I approached the Evil Island, which was shaped peculiarly like my ragged left wing.

Aaaahh! The familiarity of the Island! I was so glad I was among the few born there, and not on the darned South mountain range. As I landed, a horrible chill was sucked into my wings. Horrible. _Perfect_. It just felt… so… wrong. And nothing was going to stop it. I could relate to that.

A terrifying darkness covered the cursed land. I loved it. I loved it all. I seriously have no idea how any of the other generals could despise it like that. I despised it too, but I like the way it makes me feel. Always the darkest will love despise. Another one of my dad's sayings.

 _Who cares about him?_ _Exile finished him off long ago. He couldn't even fight my sister off._

Exile was my only living kin. And the only soul that I even gave thought about except for me. We were closer than most siblings.

"Leftwing? Leftwing? Hallloooo, Earth to Leftwing!" A cheeky To-be mutt Eagle snickered. Then his face turned into pure fright as I turned to snarl at him. He made a submissive gesture. "Sorry General Leftwing, just playing," he muttered, and fled.

I snorted. Coward! I couldn't even be bothered to just kill him.

"So, it seems like you've got some trouble from To-bes. Ha ha," said a voice behind me. I whirled around to face my sister. "He's no trouble," I spat. "I could kill him just by looking at him." Exile giggled.

Her expression turned fierce again. "Here, I brought you some prey," she said, pushing a small thlew into my talons.

"I can catch my own, thanks," I said coldly. The biggest difference between me and Darkblood; I was very independent and strong. He, on the other hand, would actually _order_ someone to _bring_ food to him. I guess he thought it made him seem high-ranking and stuff, but I just thought of him as soft. -

Turned out I was too tired to catch my own food, as I came back an hour later with empty talons. _Well, if I haven't been fighting for hours, I would have come back with more corpses than Darkblood has ever seen!_ I thought sullenly.

I corrected myself. Not _corpses_ , _prey_. Still. Dead prey. I sipped some water from the small pond beside me, then flew to a spot beside Exile, directly under the giant rock Darkblood was sitting on. Some rain fell on my head and I glared at the darned holes in the bramble covering. How my talons itched to claw something, scratch out-

"Let all of my loyal troops gather under the Highrock for a meeting!" Darkblood yowled into the sky.

No need. We were already there. Me and Exile needed Darkblood to think we were loyal, at least for now, for my plan-in-progress to carry out. The rest just feared Lord Darkblood's fury. _Idiots!_ Me and (judging by her expression) Exile thought.

Darkblood narrowed his eyes at one of the other generals. "Crowhead, report," he commanded.

Crowhead dipped his head respectfully. "Great Lord Darkblood, the treasury is safe," his slithery voice oozed out with flattery. "No one would dare steal anything from someone as powerful as you, my master." I hated weak old Crowhead, whose name fitted him too well.

Darkblood just dipped his head in acknowledgement, his eyes gleaming. "Halface and Hatemark, report."

The twins started talking about the new defenses recently added to the camp. Then the others droned on about their topics. _Boring,_ I thought. _Wait till you hear my news!_

Then it was Exile's turn to speak.

"My lord, we have found signs of the four from the prophecy." She glanced proudly at her troops. "They are suspected to currently be in the desert."

I stared at her in awe. How- What- But- _I_ was the greatest tracker! And now she had made my news completely worthless.

Darkblood sat a little straighter, his ears pricked with interest. "You mean the four from the Prophecy of Warriors?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I meant," Exile said with a note of impatience.

Lord Darkblood tried to act all calm and bored, but his eyes betrayed a hint of curiosity.

"But we don't know what powers they possess- yet," she added warily, noticing a low growl forming in Darkblood's throat.

Splendid. So my allies _would_ be happy to hear what I had to share with them.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but it is confirmed that they are in West territory- I fought them," I added hastily, trying to ignore the looks of wonder and disbelief coming from all sides.

"So _that's_ how he got those fresh wounds," someone muttered.

"From what I could tell, Wind- the South girl, I think- possess the ability of speed and agility. She was the best fighter of all of them. She could match my speed with grace. Her battle skills don't have anything to do with it. She was already a cunning fighter when- well, her powers only seem to enhance her battle skills a bit." I said, carefully deciding not to tell him about meeting her as a Mitl, before her powers had fully developed.

"The East girl- Feather, I thiiiink- she can heal herself- and other people as well, I'm sure- in an instant. Something else, too, I can sense, but I'm not exactly sure. The North and West boys have, well, it's still a bit muddled up," I said truthfully.

Darkblood nodded. "That would be useful for eliminating them, I think."

"Thank you, my lord," I replied, forcing myself to say that wretched word.

Darkblood addressed everybody, "All right. You know what the plan is, if you are currently a warrior." He scanned his eyes over us. "For the first attack patrol, I will have Crowhead, Hatemark, Thicketbush, Chillsweep, Maggotswarm, Redscar, Ratscar, Blindeyes, Molewhisker, Ravine, Venommind, Adderfang, Sharpwound, Splinter, Storms, Ivyhearted, Leftwing, Exile, Dankgrave, and Losthope. That should be more than enough to tackle the four."

Me, Exile, and Generals Crowhead, Hatemark, Chillsweep, Redscar, Molewhisker, Venommind, and Ivyhearted gathered our troops to go. It was an honor to be chosen, so everyone was buzzing with excitement.

Except for Losthope. Then, she's always been gloomy. I don't think she even wanted to join Darkblood's army. But then, it was join or die. I don't give her much thought at all.

"You know the drill," reminded Darkblood. "We shall track them down, eliminate all opposition, and then at last, I will rule the world!" -

2015, October 31, West Clan, Feather's point of view…

I shivered. The shock of the Death Eagle lunging toward us out of nowhere still hasn't taken it's toll. At least I was unscathed, or I thought so. I do remember the absolute horror of the majestic looming shadow of the Death Eagle that talks. I also remember the shadow swooping toward me, talons outstretched, and the pain, oh the pain-

I shuddered again. _I never want to see that horrible thing again!_ Then I tried to wipe out all negative thoughts from my mind. Stay positive, stay calm, create peace. That's my motto.

I've practiced this alot. Like, wiping the dark thoughts out. In just a moment, I was all cheerful- at least in demeanor. Most people don't know me very well. I don't have to be a mind reader to tell what they think of me. It's just "Oh, that cheerful idiot, she's always happy and carefree about nothing, seems to think the best of everyone, _what_ a fool, she can't even patrol properly. Isn't she sweet, we all need to protect her 'cause she's so helpless-"

I wiped those thoughts away immediately. _My friends need me_ , I reminded myself. _I part of a prophecy for a reason. I need to go help them!_

I hurried over to Mintmarigold, who was close to fainting.

"Ohhh, my head hurts, and I think I'm in a state of shock! Uuugh, my back!" she cried. "Ow stop that YOU CLUMSY FOOL. Get some salve, will you? My feet aches! That scary Debf Eagle had no right to come here and attack _me!_ "

 _Well, isn't she cheerful,_ was gone from my mind almost as instantly as it had appeared. There was something about her that just got my fish wrong, as Eastern Twolegs like to say. _Rubs me the wrong way_.

"Minty, are you alright?" Thornclaw said worriedly. "It's Mintmarigold," she moaned pitifully, which I could tell was carefully practiced to prevent anger from showing. "Ow, you ugly person, stop trodding on my feet! You're not even cute! Pleeease get me some salve…" she snapped at an offended Frostheart.

 _What a narcissist,_ I thought frankly. I don't like people who always pity themselves in a moanful way. Clearly Thornclaw thought the same, underneath his worried face. I sighed inwardly, then I easily shoved it all to the back of my thoughts. It's well-practiced. _Stay positive, stay calm, create peace,_ I told myself.

Frost muttered a few North swear words under his breath. Mintmarigold fainted.

Thornclaw sighed. "She's pretending."

I growled before I could stop myself.

"Do you know any herbs used to heal her, Tornclaw?" Frost queried.

"NO," Thornclaw grumbled. "And it's _Thornclaw_ , you idiot."

A low growl formed in Frostheart's throat. I could sense that it would turn into a nasty argument soon.

"Hey hey, guys, calm down please," I barely stifled a " _Jeez!"_ "You won't be helping Ellenora and your Clans by fighting amongst yourselves."

Then I turned a shade of bright scarlet, wondering if I should have said "ourselves" instead. It would have sounded less like blaming them.

"Idiot," Wind scoffed at Frost. Was that a note of affection in there?

I rubbed my ears in disbelief. _Wind and Frost? Never! They're total opposites!_

 _Well, not really, actually,_ another thought popped into my mind. _And…_

Thoughts immediately cleared. BOOM.

Wind looked like she was racking her brain hard. "What are you feeling?" She inquired Mintmarigold.

Silence. Still stillness.

"Fine, we won't help you," Wind grumbled. Mintmarigold immediately shot up.

Nightwind grinned. "Ha! Caught you in the act!" Then she looked around. "Does comfrey, thyme, poppy seed, mint, cobwebs, and marigold exist here?" She asked Thornclaw. "Do you even know what it is?"

"Obviously," Thornclaw snapped. "Who's _Mint-marigold_?"

"But do you have it?"

"Cobwebs are very common here, unless you don't like sand-spiders. Thyme grows everywhere. Poppies are sometimes found in our caves, but I have one or two in my pocket. Mint, I dunno. As for marigold, they're rare, but they usually grow in the Great Du-" He stopped and cast Wind a furtive look. He was worried he revealed too much and that Wind would bring South Clan to raid them?

"Look, we're all friends here. We're trying to help, okay?" I told him.

"Not okay, he's too _blind_ to see that," Wind muttered out loud, putting emphasis on the word _blind_.

Thornclaw didn't flinch this time. He stared down at his feet, then just gave Wind a long look of fury and hatred, a look I can't even describe.

I nudged Wind. "I said _friends_ ," I whispered.

Thornclaw looked lost for words for a moment. Then he just said quietly, so quietly I almost missed it, "Maybe we should go our separate ways, for now."

 _That's it?_ I was confused. That was nothing like the raging beast before! But really, I was relieved.

Thornclaw muttered, "I'm going to get some cobwebs," picking out the easiest job.

"No, wait!" A sudden idea had popped into my head. Or more like a sudden _hunch_ , since I wasn't exactly sure _what_ the great idea was yet.

"WHAT IS IT?" Thorny roared. I was glad to see he was back to his roaring, fierce self.

"Ummm… Wait… Lemme think… " I mumbled, feeling embarrassed and trying to sort out heads and tails of the 'hunch'. I had an annoying habit of blurting things out before I said them, I know. Ugh-

Clearing out my mind again. After the battle, my skill for doing this seemed to be-

 _After the battle!_

"I KNOW! If I can heal all of _my own_ wounds, could I heal other's wounds? I bet I could, or this power wouldn't be very cool!" I babbled.

Nightwind started murmuring something to Frostheart. I strained to hear.

"... know why… has that power… so cheerful… her… always… who else… heal anybody… idiot like Thorn… too caring…"

Well, I could put two and two together.

I just hunched my shoulders, scowling. That was not fair! Just because I'm _friendly_ doesn't mean that I'm _too_ caring. I hated how people always thought like that!

 _Put that scowl away,_ I told myself. _I_ did not _hate_ anything. Hating is just plain awful for everybody, and I was not going to punish myself by fueling alot of anger for my _hatred_.

I shuddered. That eagle- _Leftwing_ \- had been so awful! WHY was he so caught up in revenge and fury? I just did not understand that.

 _And I don't want to,_ I told myself.

But there was a little uncomfort inside me… -


End file.
